Burden and Bury
by Caitiann
Summary: Rick and Beth escape the prison together. Can they find the others, and can they heal themselves? Rated T, for now, but may switch to M later. This IS a romance, so if you're not interested, just don't read. :)
1. Chapter 1

Rick felt everything right now. Every inch of his body was on fire. He tasted blood, sweat, and bile. There was a pause before the next hit came. Then fire again. Pause, then fire. Rick wanted so badly to fight back, to reach up and hurt the man who had taken everything from him, to kill The Governor. He couldn't summon the strength. Rick knew this was the end. It was without irony to him, that in a world where the dead ate the living, he would still die at the hands of a petty criminal. Maybe the world hadn't changed so much after all. He thought of the people he had failed. There were so many. There was a path of death he left in his wake, and as the prison burned down around him, he knew he had failed everyone left living as well. After another brutal hit, Rick's head rolled up towards the sky. In the brief moment before the next punch came –the final one, he believed- Rick looked up at the clouds. For just a moment, with the sun shining down on him, Rick Grimes was okay.

But the final blow never came. In the same moment he had accepted his death, he was freed from it. Michonne's Katanna had speared the Governor, and Rick stood up as quickly as his aching body would allow. In a flash, he remembered all that he had been fighting for.

"Where's Carl?" Rick yelled at Michonne, without sparing time for a thank you. Maybe there would be time for that later, but for now he needed to find his son.

"Dad!" Rick turned, and saw Carl running towards them. Rick didn't try to hide the tears that formed in his eyes at seeing his son alive and unhurt. He leaned onto Carl, and hugged him tightly, and pressed his tears into the top of his head.

"Judith… where's Judy, Carl?" Rick sobbed into his hair. Carl gently pushed Rick back, and looked his father in his eyes.

"Dad, she's… she's gone. I saw her empty carrier. It was… it had…" Carl broke down in his father's arms. Rick didn't ask what was in the carrier. He didn't want to know, not right now_. He had his son_, he kept reminding himself, _Carl was okay_. Rick's memories of the beautiful girl with his wife's eyes were mercifully interrupted by the sharp sound of Michonne's Katanna being unsheathed. The sounds of walkers groaning were closing in. Fire burned around them.

"We need to go Rick." He looked at Michonne with shock on his face. In all the chaos, it was just now occurring to him that they had to leave their home. "The prison has fallen." Michonne reiterated, as she attempted to make eye contact with him.

Rick nodded, and was about to acquiesce when he heard the most piercing scream he'd ever heard. His head snapped back behind him, but he saw nothing. He searched among the ruins of the prison, and heard the wail again. This wasn't a scream of fear; it was one of desperation, of anguish. Michonne grabbed his arm.

"Rick, we have to go." She said sternly. Her implications were clear. She'd heard the scream too, but did not want to investigate. She was probably right, he noted. The prison was literally crashing down around him. Despite himself, he took a hesitant step in the direction of the wails.

"Rick, you can't help them!" Michonne yelled with desperation in her eyes. "We have to go!"

"You go, take Carl." Rick spat at Michonne. "I'll meet you out there. Remember that store we hit last week? Go there. I'll find you."

Both Carl and Michonne shook their heads vehemently.

"Rick you're in no shape to…"

"Dad I won't leave you…"

But he was already gone. Rick limped towards the prison, and remembered how much pain he was in. Every step was a struggle. Rick groaned inwardly at himself. He wasn't sure what he thought he was going to do. Of course this was a bad idea. Even if he found the person, he was in no shape to fight to save them. He could barely walk himself.

Rick made his way through the prison, adeptly avoiding walkers. He had his knife in one hand, but he couldn't move his other arm. As he turned the corner of the prison, he saw her.

Beth was on her knees in staring at something. Her sobs echoed against the prison walls. Rick was approaching her from the back, but so were many walkers. Rick hurried as much as he could behind her, and reached down to grab her arm. And then he saw what she was sobbing over.

Judith's baby carrier was soaked with blood.

/

Beth couldn't stop the sobs that wracked her body. Judith was gone, and it was her fault. She had lost her presence of mind after her dad. Her dad… a fresh sob wracked her body. She'd lost everyone. Maggie had tried to get her on the bus, but she had to go look for the kids. When she couldn't find them, Daryl had tried to get her to leave, but she had then tried to find Maggie. All she found were bodies, and then… this.

It was fitting; Beth thought ruefully to herself, that the biggest symbol of hope should die with what little they had left. Beth heard the walkers, but could not bring herself to get up. She knew she should leave. But what good would it do her? Without Maggie, or Daryl, it's not like she'd last long on her own anyway. Beth let despondency take her. There was no point in fighting. Her dad was dead, and the baby she'd been raising as her own was dead. Her sister was gone. What was left to fight for?

She heard the shuffling steps behind her. She didn't even look back. Just another walker that's broken into our home, she figured, just another way to die in this cruel world. When the walker touched her arm, she didn't even flinch. She didn't reach for her knife. She just couldn't bring herself to care.

But the walker collapsed next to her, and was hugging the baby carrier close to him and sobbing. Realization and reality settled in for Beth, and she recognized the bloodied Rick kneeling next to her. He barely looked like Rick. His face was unrecognizable. Beth stared at him for a moment in shock, and then a thought hit her. Rick would understand. Watching him clutch the carrier and sob Judith's name, she knew Rick would _understand_. Walkers were closing in on them, she realized. Beth shook her head to bring herself out of her reverie, and stood up, drawing her knife.

"Rick," she whispered her voice raw from crying, "Rick, we need to get out of here." She turned, and lunged towards the walker that was a few steps away. It took all of her strength to actually get her knife into his skull, decomposed flesh or not. When she turned back around, Rick had stood up, but was carrying the carrier in one hand. His crying had stopped, but his pain was written all over his face. Beth reached over, and gently tried to take the carrier from his hand. Rick's head shot up, and he gripped the carrier tighter. Beth understood clearly.

"I'm not going to drop it." Beth promised Rick. He regarded her carefully for a moment, then nodded slowly, and released the carrier into her hand. Beth walked to Rick's side, and pulled his good arm over her shoulders, allowing him to put some of the weight on her. The two of them walked slowly, in complete silence as they made their way out of the prison and into the woods. As they passed over the hill, Beth paused. Rick tugged her gently towards him.

"Don't look back, Beth… Please, don't look back."


	2. Chapter 2

For the first few miles of their journey, Beth wasn't sure who was holding who up. They had been lucky so far- there were very few walkers to be dealt with. They had been able to dodge them instead of deal with them for the most part. Neither of them had said much of anything. It didn't feel like there was anything to say. They had stopped once, when Beth felt a sob crawling up her throat, but Rick gently urged her on, whispering that there would be time to mourn later, when they were safe. But as the sun started to set, the weight of Rick on her shoulder started to grow, compounded by the weight of the carrier in her other hand making that shoulder begin to burn. Beth knew they needed to find somewhere to stop, but all she saw were trees.

Beth started whispering to Rick_, its okay. Stay with me. We're almost there. We're going to make it._ He was trying so hard, he kept nodding along with her, and deliberately putting one foot in front of the other. But only a few minutes later, Rick was stumbling, and before Beth could stop it, they were both on the ground.

"No, Rick, please…" Beth began to beg. There was nowhere to go. She couldn't carry him by herself, especially not with the baby carrier too. It was already dark, and she could barely see in front of her. She dare not yell too much in an attempt to wake him, but she shook him vigorously. Beth began to panic- she wrapped her arms around Rick's waist, and attempted to lift him, but it was never going to work, and she knew it.

"I'm sorry Rick." Beth sighed. She hunched down and wrapped his arms around her neck, and she dragged him to the side of the road. Beth took his gun, and covered him with leaves. Then Beth went back to the road, and grabbed the carrier. She moved back to where Rick was, and sat facing him, her back against a tree. She would have to stay like this, until he woke up. Or at least until morning.

/

Rick was having a dream.

He was still in high school. He had been Quarterback for his high school football team. He didn't have the strongest arm, but he was smart, and he was accurate. Not to mention he had Shane as his tight end, and the two of them combined for more yards than anyone else in the state of Georgia. Rick knew he was probably too small and skinny for the position, but he read defenses with ease, and he led the team to more than one championship.

It was one of those dreams he was having now. The feeling of being hoisted up on his teammates shoulders as they congratulated him on another winning pass, another championship. He tore his helmet off, and the cool breeze of October pressed against the sweat on his brow. He could hear the cheerleaders chanting:

_Go Tigers! Go Tigers! Go Tigers!_

He searched the crowd, and saw his parents waving at him from the stands, looking so proud. His mom even had tears in her eyes. Rick looked over to the sidelines, and saw Lori, wrapped up in her blue and white scarf, her eyes shining, waving at him. He saw Shane walk over to her, also in his football uniform, and put a hand on her shoulder as they both start smiling and waving. Rick got down off of his friends shoulders, and started to go over to Lori and Shane.

But when Rick hit the ground and looked over, they were kissing.

Rick rubbed his eyes, and looked again.

Now they've both turned, still kissing.

Rick blinked, and everything was different. Everyone was either dead, or a walker. Blood was everywhere. The scoreboard, still with the score of 34-20, was burning to the ground. Rick looked desperately up for his parents. His father was chewing on his mother's leg, as she reached for Rick, and that same tear left her eye.

Walker Shane and Walker Lori walked towards him now, holding hands. Walker Lori reached out with her free hand to grab him.

_No, No, No, No!_

/

When Rick woke up, it was because there was a blonde ponytail in his face. He tried to move, but could barely open his mouth. He was sore, and weak, thanks, he was sure, to the handiwork of the Governor. He looked around as best as he could, trying to take in his surroundings. It appeared to be a cabin of some sort, though it was smaller than anything he'd seen before. It couldn't have been larger than a standard living room in a normal house. All the furniture except the bed was piled up against the door, and the one window was stuffed with sheets and what looked like leaves. There was a small fire place, which seemed to have a pot on it, which accounted for the warm air surrounding him. There was a small lantern in the corner, but at the moment it was turned off. Then there was the bed, flush against the wall, which he currently occupied. Leaning against the bed was a small blonde girl, clutching a baby carrier, her head leaning against the edge of the bed, mouth slightly open, and a mess of hair flung his face.

"Beth." He rasped, knowing there was only one person that ponytail could belong to. Beth shot up, immediately turning to him, and checking on his bruises. She surprised him by beginning to cry gently, and mumbling, "You're not dead, you're not dead."

"Beth," he interrupted her, "where are we?"

Beth wiped her eyes, and sat up next to him. "It's a cabin, I brought you here. There's a creek down behind us, I got some water, and some catfish… Been boiling 'em both." She grinned at her own small joke, which made him chuckle. The laugh produced a sharp pain in his ribs, which sobered them both.

"I'm really sorry, Rick." Beth sighed, her hands a flurry of movement. She pulled off his shirt, and began trying to gently move his arms and check his ribs for breaks. He grunted with each movement, but he knew the pain would be much worse if anything were broken, or out of joint.

"I'm okay, Beth. Just sore." He reassured her. She smiled gratefully, but hesitantly.

"That's kinda my fault. I sorta dragged you here." She admitted sheepishly. "You passed out, and I couldn't leave you, I just couldn't. I guarded you through the night, but you still hadn't moved in the mornin'. I did what I could to get you here. But I can't pretend it was pretty." She shrugged. "But luckily it wasn't far, and I got you here, and you're alive." she sighed. "Shit! You need to eat!" she stood up and ran to the stove, where she dipped a dirty, broken bowl into the broth, and rushed it back over to Rick. "Ain't nothin' but fish n' water, but its somethin'I guess. Sorry." She smiled apologetically at him.

"Beth, you're tellin' me, you stayed up and guarded me in the woods all night, dragged a man twice your size to a cabin, cleared it, prepped it, and got us food and water, cooked it, and you're _sorry_?" Rick smiled at her, as he gingerly sipped at the broth, "I didn't know Beth Greene had it in her."

Beth smiled back at him, and playfully slapped his arm, "all you men forget I was raised on a farm. My brother Shawn taught me how to fish, and shoot, and I had to do all kinds of farm work that kept me strong and well, life ain't exactly got easier since then. I'm just glad you're up, I was startin' to worry."

Rick grinned at her, but it slowly faded as her words began to sink in. "Finally? …Beth, how long have I been out?" he sat up quickly, panic in his voice.

"I…I'm not sure, I think 3 or 4 days." She answered, taken aback by his change in tone.

Rick put his bowl down next to him and buried his head in his hands. They wouldn't have waited, they couldn't have. They would have had to move on.

"Rick…?" Beth started, placing a hand on his arm. He shook her off. He had to go check and see for himself.

"I told Michonne to take Carl and wait for me at a store in a nearby town. I have to go see if they're still there." Rick informed her.

Beth sighed and stood up. "You can't go anywhere. You can barely walk, and there's no car. I'll go, and bring them back here if I find them."

Rick was impressed by her courage, but shook his head firmly. "No Beth. I should have been the one taking care you as it is, not the other way around. I can't let you go."

Beth smiled warmly at Rick, and placed her hand on his. "Then we go together."


End file.
